Pours a clear light orange with a foamy white head that settles to a thin cap on top of the beer. Foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, rye, pepper, and some earthy, spicy hop aromas. Taste is much the same with a citrus zest flavor on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good beer that is tasty and easy to drink. (535 characters)

new Belgium hasn't really impressed me in awhile, and this one certainly doesn't blow my mind, but its a good spring beer. the pour is radiantly clear golden with a nice fluffy white head with decent retention. the nose is an earthy lager yeast that smells like raw pizza dough a little bit, and a grassy hop complex. the flavor is a nice interplay between these elements, and I really do like the hoppy back end, mildly bitter and very springtime feeling. however, I cant give this too much credit, because I enjoyed this immediately after a humulus lager from the brewery, which is absolutely the best lager ive ever had, and it takes the hop component to the extreme. this beer pales hard in comparison to that. still the feel is pretty good with spunky carbonation and a little more body than the standard lager. the alcohol got be buzzing a bit after a bomber too. overall not bad, but nothing risky or special here. finally they priced one of these bombers reasonably though, so kudos for that. (1,000 characters)

Poured into a 1/2 liter stein a clear rich golden with a great looking fluffy bone white crown that settles very slowly into a thick frothy mass leaving a few broken chunks of lace behind.Big spicy hops in the nose over top of bready caramel malts,a tinge of iron is light but noticable as well.Not a full bodied pale bock,a little lighter feel for the style.Bold sharp hops at the onset with a light carame sweetness underneath,toasted and more drying hops in the finish.The hoppiest pale bock I have had,it goes down way to easy. (531 characters)

If Jim Morrison had gone into brewing... Anyway, this stuff pours a clear brass topped by a few fingers of lightly off-white foam. The nose comprises miscellaneous greenery, sweet honey, caramel, and a bit of light spearmint. There's an incredible balance in place here. The taste leans further on the side of the greens, which now include some mild grass and a tiny hint of pine needle, while the sweeter side falls deep into the relative shadows along with its new friend, light rye bread. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a generally dry finish. Overall, though an interesting concept, the execution of a hoppy maibock just kinda misses the mark for me. Were it slightly more balanced on the tongue, it might have succeeded, but that was sadly not the case. (827 characters)

Clear golden amber in the big New Belgium snifter. Pleasing flowery aroma. Almost a citrus character along with the fruity hops (Hallertauer, Perle, Fuggles). Tangy but not too acidic for the thin body.

A pleasant bitter twang takes over, though bitterness is nicely moderated. The aftertaste of malt reminds you that this is supposed to be a Bock, but it's really more like a Pale Ale at first, and tenth slurp. It does taste maltier as it warms up along with the intriguing fruity hops. Crisp and refreshing. I wish I could order a Fat Tire in some dreadful suburb of Orlando, and have this come out of the tap instead. From the 22 oz bottle bought at Royal Liquor in Encinitas. (682 characters)

22 ounce bottle into signature globe glass, best before 6/16/2013. Pours slightly cloudy golden straw color with a 2 finger dense white head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice dense soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big grapefruit, pine, grass, floral, pepper, biscuit, toast, spicy rye, light caramel, and herbal earthiness. Very nice and unique aromas with good balance and complexity of earthy/spicy hops and malt notes. Taste of grapefruit, pine, floral, grass, biscuit, spicy rye, pepper, light caramel, toast, and herbal earthiness. Fair amount of pine bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of grapefruit, pine, floral, grass, biscuit, toast, spicy rye, pepper, light caramel, and herbal earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity of spicy/earthy hops and malt flavors; with a good malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a lightly creamy and fairly sticky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is an excellent hoppy maibock style. Very nice balance and complexity of hop and malt flavors; and very smooth to sip on. A very enjoyable offering. (1,322 characters)

Picked up at the COOP tonight for $5ish ... Poured into my HotD goblet... the brew is polished bright golden.. Great white head with decent retention and nice sheets of lace.

Nose is definitely hoppier than a standard Maibock, but honestly still close... Most Continental cousins will be more malt forward. Hops are really grassy and show a minor spiciness... I get a maltiness that I associate as a "house aroma" with many New Belgium beers... sorta cracker/dry toasty biscuit..

Flavor has a decent bitter bite that begins mid palate and on to the finish... hop flavors are again hay/grassy and a lesser spiciness.. tastes very fresh... very bright hop flavors mesh well with a pale maltiness and those above mentioned biscuit maltiness.

Body is light/medium with a spritzy small bubble carbonation.... Pretty drinkable.

Served in tulip. Poured a clean, clear golden yellow color with about 3/4 inch of white head that had good retention and lots of very sticky lacing.

The aroma was mostly sweet malts, but did have a noticeable floral hop tone. The flavors followed along about as I expected from the scent, lots of grainy malt, higher than typical hops, and a surprisingly dry finish.

The body was nicely light, smooth, and clean. Drinkability was decent, I wouldn't have 2 in a row, but I'll probably have it again. Overall, a nice brew, not special, but worth a shot if you see it. (567 characters)

Pours a clear, gold color. One inch head of a white color. Great retention and great lacing. Smells of citrus hops, hint of floral hops, slight sweet malt, slight grass, and an herbal aroma. Fits the style of a Maibock / Helles Bock. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of slight pine, floral hops, citrus hops, hint of sweet malt, and a hint of pale malt. Overall, good appearance, hoppy and floral aroma, with a smooth mouth feel. The malt appears in the body to balance the herbal notes. (528 characters)

A - Shimmering golden in color, Hoppy Bock has a glowing presence and light carbonation though the head is very well retained as-is. Lace circles the glass with thick chunks as well as delicate webbing for an eye-catching beer!

T - Hoppy Bock much more balanced and bock-like than the nose suggests, straying from the bold hoppiness as it sticks much closer to it's base style; a golden malty spring-time lager. Residual sweetness lingers from unfermentable sugars providing plenty of base for the hops to play off of. Notes of American-like pine and earthy hops shift to a more English, German noble variety that showcases far more herbal qualities. Hoppy Bock's flavor finishes out like taking a bite of a warm, fresh biscuit draped in honey.

M - Initially clean and crisp, this well-carbonated lager shifts towards s fuller, sweeter presence rather quickly. It's a "Hop Kitchen" beer but despite the mild lingering bitterness and dry herbal qualities on the finish, this beer still leaves the maibock maltiness and lingering sweetness on my palate after the swallow. Great balance!

O - I don't pretend to know where New Belgium is going with Hop Kitchen but Hoppy Bock, the first installment of this series, takes a classic style with springtime in mind and develops a nice malty base all while offering a little more throughout; a big hop nose, deeper hop flavor, and a balancing bitterness on the tongue. Hoppy Bock is a thoughtful brew with subtle complexity woven through a classic style for a very enjoyable golden beer. (1,932 characters)

Poured a clearish gold with lace ring down glass and decent head. Aroma is mostly some bready, pils-like malt and a nice wet citrusy hop aroma. Taste is more hops than bock, in fact its mostly hops, but as I drink there are some sweet notes popping up. Smooth, a little bready, easy to drink (woudl not guess almost seven percent alcohol at all). Not much of a bock but it's a nice try at mixing two styles and I enjoyed it. (424 characters)

22oz bottleA - golden with a frothy off-white head, excellent head retention, crazy-thick lacing down the glassS - spicy, yeast, biscuit, fruit, grassy hopT - spicy again, Hallatau hop, grass, biscuit, fruit, faint honey, nice clean finish with some nutty yeast; sweet but the hops help to balance it out more than the usual bock, which I like.M - creamy, smooth, pleasant carbonationO - I really liked this one, but the Hallertau hops are at threshold. Any more, and the beer goes downhill from there. I thought this was well crafted, and for $2.99 I might get it again. (576 characters)

Nose is very hoppy indeed...very much reminds me of the hop varietals they used in 2 below, still sad that beer got axed - very spicy and herbal. The malts are not really a player on the aroma...an odd thing for a bock.

Taste is leafy greens to the left and leafy greens to the right...old world hops all over your face, kid. The honeyed malts come out to play a bit more, but this is very much a hoppy bock. Probably a little heavier on the hop flavor than the bitterness. The malts are definitely biscuity in flavor and I actually wouldnt mind a little more malt presence...maybe a touch of caramel. I like it though, and the price tag is right at $4.75 a bomber...sad thing is this kicks many an experimental LOF beer at a little more than half the price! I am excited for more beers in this series, well done NB, well done indeed. (991 characters)

Appearance-The beer pours a golden coppery color with a one finger billowy white head. The head slowly fades over time to leave a decent level of lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell- The aroma is heaviest of some biscuit malt with a touch or roasted malt within. Along with these smells so too are some aromas of caramel and a bit of grass, some citrus and small amounts of pine.

Taste – The taste began with a malty and somewhat sweeter flavor upfront. The malt is of biscuit and some lightly toasted bread while the sweet is largely of a caramel nature. The hop flavors quickly follow the initial taste with them being largely of a floral nature early on. As the taste advances however more hop flavor comes to the tongue with flavors of pine, a citrus and some grassy hop grow more intense as the flavor advances to the end. With a light orange citrus and tropical fruit coming along the time all the hops come, in the end one is left with a pleasant not too hoppy and not too sweet flavor on the tongue.

Mouthfeel –The body of the beer is on the medium side in terms of thickness and creaminess with a carbonation level that is a bit on the higher and finer side. A bit of a thicker (less champagne like) carbonation may have suited the tastes of the brew slightly better, but the medium body was spot on for the blend of hop, malt and sweeter flavors giving the brew a rather nice feel overall.

Overall – A quite tasty and enjoyable brew overall. It is one to try if you have a chance. (1,540 characters)

Had a small glass of this from a friend's bottle and was impressed. Gold color, good head. Aroma was interesting bit of grassy hops. Flavor was this really good hoppiness taking over the lager, grassy, just great hop character. Might have to go buy another bottle while its still fresh, yum. (291 characters)

Honey with a finger of light cream, loose foam. Initial smell is lemongrass, vitamin, lemongrass again, shortbread, more lemon - my wife would love the nose here. Flavor is biscuit, butter, hints of hibiscus and a little bit of cornbread. Medium bodied and low carb with a dry finish. I'm really surprised by this beer, not really like a bock to me, not really hoppy to me - but punches most keys for me. Really a nice, pleasant beer. (451 characters)

Pours out to a brilliantly clear medium golden, forming a gorgeous rocky white head with excellent retention and nice sheets of lacing. Carbonation moderately brisk ~3.0 carbs. The nose has a nice slightly spicy and earthy hop character with a hint of toast. I expected to see Victory malt in the bill, but alas there is none. Mouthfeel is very crisp and clean with a medium dense body. The taste is phenomenal. There is a distinct dried apricot and tangerine flavor in the middle which is out of character for a maibock, but it's still awesome. The bitterness is well balanced with the munich adding a big malt body. More tangerine in the finish.

A fantastic beer. Completely out of style for a maibock as far as the assertiveness of the hops, but hey, that's why they call it Hoppy Bock, and it delivers!. I would buy this again for sure, and at $4.99/bomber, it's a vastly superior beer and a better buy than Dead Guy. Highly recommended. (1,120 characters)